Category: Reviews

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, The Time of Green Magic, When You Trap a Tiger, and The Lost Wonderland Diaries

As my regular readers know, I’m a round one judge for the Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category. Because of that, I’ve been reading LOTS of books lately! I’m not allowed to share any details about our process for choosing the finalists, but I am allowed (and encouraged) to review the books as I read, so I figured I’d share four of them with you today. I hope these bite-sized reviews will […]

Posted December 5, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 6 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Kiki’s Delivery Service; Embassy of the Dead; The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez; Middle School Bites; and Into the Tall, Tall Grass

Posted November 19, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 10 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, Mañanaland, The Copycat, & Shuri

Posted November 12, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 4 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Race to the Sun, Skunk and Badger, The Dragon Thief, and The Forgotten Girl

Posted October 23, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 0 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: A Wish in the Dark, Ghost Squad, Scritch Scratch, & Midnight at the Barclay Hotel

Posted October 17, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 13 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch; Four Days of You and Me; Maya and the Rising Dark; and Hello, Arnie!: An Arnie the Doughnut Story

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two MG fantasies, a YA contemporary, and a picture book. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! An utterly adorable fantasy adventure about finding and playing to your strengths. This reminded me a lot of The Worst Witch (a series that my daughter really enjoys) because Eva’s magic often goes a bit awry. Except this book is set in a fantasy world […]

Posted October 8, 2020 in Reviews / 8 Comments

I’m a 2020 Round One Cybils Awards Judge! Plus, Quick Reviews of Last Year’s MG Speculative Fiction Finalists

I really enjoyed being a round-two judge for the Cybils Awards. The process for picking a winner was WAY harder than I expected it to be, but it was also great to have in-depth discussions about each of the finalists. I was surprised how many of the books I absolutely loved! This year, I said I’d be willing to be either a round-one or round-two judge, and I was chosen for round one for the […]

Posted September 23, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of My Life in the Fish Tank; Girl, Serpent, Thorn; Flamer; and Graceling

I’ve got four reviews for you today: two YA fantasies, a MG contemporary, and a YA historical graphic novel. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! A compelling story about grief and mental health, My Life in the Fish Tank examines how secrecy and shame can be the root of pain. When Zinnia’s brother is in an accident, her whole life changes, not because he’s hurt but because […]

Posted September 8, 2020 in Reviews / 11 Comments

Two Books by Natalie Rompella: Secrets of Storytelling: A Creative Writing Workbook for Kids & Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners – PLUS Rompella’s Top Ten Addictions!

Today I’m featuring two books by Natalie Rompella: her newly-released kids’ writing book, Secrets of Storytelling: A Creative Writing Workbook for Kids, and her MG contemporary, Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners. Plus, scroll down to see Natalie’s top ten addictions! Natalie is a friend of mine from my SCBWI critique group, so I was excited to get this chance to feature her! Purchase Links: This workbook is perfect for the budding writer! Filled with interesting prompts […]

Posted August 19, 2020 in Author Top Ten Lists, Reviews / 10 Comments

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed: Blog Tour Review

Amazon, B&N One thing you need to know going into this book is that it’s more of a slice of life book than a story about the Rodney King protests. Everything that happened in Los Angeles during that time informed how Ashley felt and responded to the world around her, but don’t expect much of the plot to revolve directly around that. Most of the story is just about her typical high school life—relationships with […]

Posted August 15, 2020 in Black History Month, Reviews / 11 Comments